Augmented microscopy technology ‘offers surgical benefits’

Surgeons could be able to operate more precisely and safely thanks to the development of new augmented microscopy technology.

Spearheaded by the University of Arizona College of Engineering, the research has yielded a device that helps neurosurgeons to see blood flowing inside vessels and more clearly distinguish cancerous from healthy tissue under the microscope.

It works by overlaying the basic image produced by the microscope with an electronically processed image using near-infrared fluorescence, a computer-generated imaging technology that illuminates vital diagnostic information.

This can help surgeons avoid cutting the wrong vessel or removing healthy tissue, without needing to look between different screens or switch back and forth between images.

Marek Romanowski, the University of Arizona's associate professor of biomedical engineering, said: "Our augmented technology provides diagnostic information under the microscope on demand and in colour, appearing directly over tissue a surgeon is operating on – as if the tissue was painted to help direct the surgeon's work."

It is thought that this technology will be particularly beneficial in the treatment of brain cancer.